CHAPTER 10

NOLI ME TANGERE,
CONTINUING RELEVANCE

NADAL, VALLEGA, CAJUELAN

 f th is ch a p te r , t h e
At th e e nd o e a b le t o :
st ud en ts s ho ul d b
ortance of Riza l as a
Appreciate the imp
thinker; and

es ra is e d in the n o ve l
relate the is su
in g la n dsc ap e of th e
to the cha n g
contempo ra ry wo rld .
 While the Noli Me Tangere triggered social
conversations the late nineteenth century
Philippines, it is important to note how the
novel continues to resonate beyond its time.
The success of Rizals's novel also rests on its
timelessness in terms of present-day social
issues and political/economic relaties. In this
chapter Noli's legacy and continuing
relevance will be explainedas a text not only
in the field of literature but also in the areas
of history and the social sciences.
 Censorship
the suppression of the release or
publication of material deemed
inappropriate, obscene, politically
unacceptable, or a threat to security.
Critique
an evaluation, analysis, or assessment of
a literary, philosophical or scientific
work.
Sociology
the social science dealing with the
study of the development, structures
and functioning of human society.
Noli After its first publication
At present, Noli Me
tangere is considered
by many as a scholar Resil Mojares
landmark piece of even went to the
literature. extent of naming Rizal
as the "Father of the
the themes of the novel Filipino Novel"
revolved around the
societal issues as such, the novel
experienced in the did not go
Philippines under the unnoticed and
Spanish colonial rule. became a subject
of discussions and
debate..
Antonio Ferdinand
Regidor Bluementrit
t
"the book is
superior."

"Your work as we
Germans say, has
been written with
blood and heart."

Praises
 Senator Vicente Barrantes
Fernando Luis Moreno Anonymous
VIda described Rizal
condemened the as a man of "ungrateful
novel as anti-catholic. contradictions. man."

offensive remarks
 In the immediate years after its
publication, the Noli was translated into
several languages. One of the earliest
translations of the novel was done in
French. Many scholars posit that there
were early attempts to translate the novel
into German and even by Tagalog but
these plans never came into fruition.
 Fr. Vicente Garcia Marcelo H. Del Leon Ma Guerrero
"Noli is a work of
Pilar
another defender of "The novel has not
literature, it should be yet been judged
judge that way and not Rizals Noli Me rightly as its effects
in a doctrinal level." Tangere are still being felt."

defended Rizal
 During the American Colonial Period,
several other traditions and editions of the
novel came out. Arguably the most
circulated versions were the English
translations of Charles Derbyshire.

The very controversy surrounded the

passage of the Rizal Law indicated the
relevance of the text in the 1950's and
even beyond.
 In academia, many scholars have also made it a
point to discuss the politics of translation and the
nuances of transforming the text in several forms.
As Testa de Ocampo points out, as much as the
novel is elevated in the highest echelons of
Philippine literary history, seldom do we find
Filipinos reading it in the original Spanish.

 Versions and translations of the Noli

also did not go without scrutiny from
academics like Benedict Anderson.
Truly, be it about its content, context,
or the way it is read or used, the value
of Rizal's novel is definitely felt in the
Philippines.

Benedict Anderson
 A remarkable aspect of Rizal's Noli lies in its
text which espoused the national hero's
articulations of a social-scientific view of the
nineteenth century of the Philippines he was
describing. Sociologist Syed Fareed Alatas
even went as far as describing Rizal as
"probably the first systematic social thinker in
the Southeast Asia."
Syed Fareed
Alatas
 Many scholars interpret the Noli as Rizal's
diagnosis of the ills of colonial society as he
assessed the role played by the church, the state
and the people. In the Noli, Rizal highlighted some
of his ideas on how the Philippine society could
be emancipated from the bondage of colonial
rule.
He underscored the importance of education as a
powerful tool to achieve progress. However, he
also exposed the complexities and constraints
wrought by the colonial condition not only on
foreigners, but also on some misguided Filipinos
that contributed to the ills of society.

Thank You
for listening!